Tag: cupcakes

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Foodie Friday: Royal Wedding elderflower cupcakes


With Royal Wedding fever in full swing as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s big day approaches tomorrow, Tommy Collins by Atlantic Group have developed a recipe so those who missed out on an invite can have their own special celebration.

 

These very British elderflower, lemon and white chocolate cupcakes were dreamed up by Quinn Spencer, Executive Chef at Tommy Collins by Atlantic Group.

Ingredients

Cupcake mixture

250g Butter

250g White chocolate

185g Bottlegreen elderflower cordial (available from major supermarkets)

210g Flour

150g Self-raising flour

1 1⁄2 tsp Baking powder

480g Caster sugar

4 Eggs

30ml Light flavoured oil (vegetable or grape seed)

125g Yoghurt

Zest of 1 Lemon

1⁄4 tsp Citric acid

Elderflower icing

400g Cream cheese, softened

100g Butter, softened

100g Icing sugar mixture

200g Bottlegreen elderflower cordial

Flowers to decorate – Quinn recommends Alyssum flowers, the edible flower closest in resemblance to the elderflower that are currently in season in Australia.

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Melt butter and white chocolate with elderflower cordial.

Mix flour, self-raising flour, baking powder and caster sugar together. Sift twice to ensure smooth.

Whip eggs, oil, yoghurt, lemon zest and citric acid

Fold all ingredients together.

Grease cupcake trays with butter, or line with cupcake liners. With a spoon, or piping bag if available, portion mixture into cupcake trays. Each should be 3⁄4 full.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer can be cleanly removed from the centre of the cupcake.

Allow to completely cool before icing.

For elderflower icing, place cream cheese, butter and icing sugar mixture in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until light and soft.

Add elderflower cordial to the icing mixture gradually, beating until combined.

Pipe or spread the icing on to cupcakes.

Decorate with flowers.

–Renowned Melbourne catering and events company Tommy Collins combines a bunch of food fanatic, trend setting, laughter loving, event enthusiasts. Founded by Tommy McIntosh and Ben Avramides, who have both worked their way up from humble hospitality beginnings, the company promotes great food, great suppliers and good relationships as the fundamentals of pulling off a showstopper event, with a firm belief that ‘anything is possible’.

Since joining forces with Atlantic Group in October 2016, the company is known as Tommy Collins by Atlantic Group, and is managed by founders McIntosh and Avramides in conjunction with Hatem Saleh of Atlantic Group.  

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Foodie Friday: Peanut buttercream frosted cupcakes

Easter is almost here and to celebrate, Callebaut Chocolatier and founder of Josophan’s Fine Chocolates, Jodie Van Der Velden, has put together a deliciously decadent Easter recipe to satisfy your chocolate cravings. Combining two of life’s greatest pleasures, chocolate and peanut butter, her delicious peanut buttercream frosted cupcakes with bunny ears are sure to be a hit with the kids (and big kids) this long weekend.

Makes 12 large – 18 regular

Ingredients

Cake
300g Callebaut Dark Couverture Fairtrade Callets 54.5% chocolate
250g unsalted butter, chopped
300g caster sugar
6 large free range eggs, room temperature
100g plain flour, sieved

Frosting
375g unsalted butter
375g smooth peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
500g pure icing sugar, sieved
½ tsp sea salt flakes

Method

Cake
Combine chocolate and butter in large microwave safe bowl, and melt on high heat, stirring every minute until melted (around 3 mins) (or melt in bowl over saucepan of simmering water, stirring).

Whisk into the completely melted chocolate butter mix: add sugar til combined. Add lightly beaten eggs til combined. Fold in flour.

Portion cake mix into greased or patty cake paper lined cupcake tin. Bake at 170 degree C, until cooked (skewer comes out with some sticky crumbs on it when poked into centre, but is not liquid). This might take around 1/2 hour or more or less, depending on your oven.

Let cool in tin.

Peanut buttercream frosting

Beat very softened (but not melted) butter briefly, til creamy. Add peanut butter and beat until combined and smooth.

Add icing sugar 1⁄2 cup at a time, and beat well between each addition, to avoid graininess. Add sea salt flakes.

Pipe using start nozzle on top of cooled cupcakes.

Enjoy at room temperature, but keep in sealed airtight container in refrigerator.

Bunny ears
Cut shaped ears from acetate (overhead projector plastic sheets or similar) Thinly spread tempered chocolate on acetate using pallet knife.

Shape if desired, by placing ‘ear’ in slightly curved surface to set (like a bowl) and or curling over top of one ear before set and using sticky take to hold down folded section until it is holding its own shape.

NOTE: Add an extra flavour note to cupcakes by scooping a melon ball size section from cupcake before frosting, and fill with raspberry jam, or salted caramel! Yum!

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Foodie Friday: Cookies and cream cupcakes

cookies and cream cupcakes Williams Sonoma

Transform simple chocolate cupcakes into an all-time favourite ice cream flavour: cookies and cream.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
2 cups (315 g) plain flour
1 cup (90 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. bicarb soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups (500 g) sugar
1 cup (250 ml) canola oil
2 eggs
1 tbs. vanilla extract
1 cup (250 g) sour cream
12 chocolate sandwich biscuits, broken in half, for toppings

For the icing:
1 cup (250 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups (375 g) icing sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
500 g cold cream cheese
2 tbs. thick cream
1 1/4 cups (110 g) chocolate biscuit crumbs (cream filling removed)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 24 standard muffin cups with paper liners. In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and 1/2 cup (125 ml) water on medium speed until combined. Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour, and beat until combined.

3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them three-quarters full. (Don’t fill less than three-quarters full because you want the cupcakes to form a dome when baking.) Bake until the tops of the cupcakes have formed a crust but still spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans between the racks halfway through baking. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and let cool completely on the racks.

4. While the cake cools, make the icing: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low, add the icing sugar, and beat until combined, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the salt and vanilla and raise the speed to medium-high. Add the cream cheese about 1 tbs. at a time until combined and no bits of cream cheese remain, about 2 minutes. Raise the speed to high, add the cream, and beat until combined, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the biscuit crumbs and beat until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer the icing to a large pastry bag fitted with a large closed-star tip.

5. Slice off the cupcake tops right where they meet the paper liners and reserve the cake tops. Pipe a layer of icing around the outside edge of each cupcake, then cover with a reserved cupcake top. Pipe a dollop of icing in the centre of each cupcake, top with a biscuit piece and serve. Makes 24 cupcakes.

From the book Favorite Cakes, by the cooks of the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen.